


Maybe Next Year, on Earth

by janewayseyebrow



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, I actually wrote something oh man oh god, New Year's Eve, Pure Uncut Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22058044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janewayseyebrow/pseuds/janewayseyebrow
Summary: "Come in," she called while picking up the empty plates and forks from the tiramisu they had shared earlier.A clinking sound grabbed her attention and she looked up to see Chakotay holding a small foil-wrapped bottle in one hand and two stemmed glasses dangling between the fingers of the other. "Almost forgot what day it is."
Relationships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway
Comments: 33
Kudos: 88





	Maybe Next Year, on Earth

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Manalyzer for the quick beta and for always believing I could actually write something. Also to Laney, Bizarra, Servalan, Danae and everyone else in the J/C Corner for always supporting me.

Their weekly dinner had run characteristically late, due to the backlog of work that they never seemed able to fully conquer. The usual conversational sidetracks into recent events had worked their way in: Tom's latest holodeck hotspot; whether or not Neelix’s never-ending culinary experiments meant they should consider reclassifying him under Sciences; a noise complaint from the crewman next door to Harry, who had decided to take up the trombone.

"Computer, what time is it?" Janeway inquired after she yawned yet again.

_"The time is 2354 hours."_

She sighed and leaned back into the couch, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry Chakotay, I had no idea it was this late. Let's call it a night, huh?"

Chakotay stood, stretching his back out a little. "Sounds good to me. At least we can say we got some work done." He bent down to start clearing the mess that had accumulated on her coffee table over the course of the evening, but she waved him away.

"I'll take care of this. You go get some rest."

"Yes ma'am," he said with a grin, and started for the door. "Good night, Kathryn."

"Good night Chakotay," she called after him as they swished open and he disappeared.

She had shed her uniform jacket and was cleaning up when her doors chimed a few minutes later. Chakotay must have forgotten something. "Come in," she called while picking up the empty plates and forks from the tiramisu they had shared earlier.

A clinking sound grabbed her attention and she looked up to see Chakotay holding a small foil-wrapped bottle in one hand and two stemmed glasses dangling between the fingers of the other. "Almost forgot what day it is."

She thought for a moment, fearing that perhaps some date important to him had slipped her mind, before realizing that it was December 31. "New Year's Eve."

He smiled as he set the glasses down on her dinner table, and unwrapped the foil from the bottle. "This is the real thing, too. Not replicated. I was saving it for a special occasion."

She picked up a glass and rolled the stem back and forth between her fingers. "This hardly seems like one," she mused, a somber tone creeping into her voice. "Kind of silly to celebrate such an Earth-centric holiday when we're still half a galaxy away." She was quickly sinking into the mire of her personal guilt when the pop of the cork snapped her back into the present.

Seemingly ignoring what she had just said, he filled her glass first. "Computer, time?"

_"The time is 2359 hours."_

"Give me a 10 second countdown to midnight," he ordered as he filled his own glass.

_"Acknowledged."_

He held his glass up in front of him and looked her in the eyes. "Kathryn, it's special to me. We're here. We're alive. You've led us through another year of the dangers and wonders of the Delta Quadrant and not only have we continued to survive, we're still thriving."

The computer chirped. _"Countdown initiated. 10, 9, 8..."_

She smiled up at him, feeling tears threatening at the back of her eyes. "You've been a rock to me, Chakotay. There's no way I could do this without you."

_"...3, 2, 1. The time is zero hours."_

They clinked their glasses together, and, telling himself it was merely in the spirit of an old Earth tradition, he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips.

For the briefest moment, she tensed, gripped by the fear of the walls she'd carefully built around her heart being reduced to dust. But the warmth and softness of his lips on hers prevailed, and she found herself relaxing into the moment, his free hand having found its way onto her hip, and hers onto his chest.

It was over all too quickly, and as they parted she opened her eyes to find his dimpled smile shining back at her.

"Who knows," he said in a voice so soft it almost made her heart ache, "maybe this time next year we'll be on Earth."

She let out a gentle laugh, despite herself. “Maybe.”

“Happy new year, Kathryn.”

“Happy new year, Chakotay.”

As they sipped their champagne, their eyes never leaving each others’, she realized that even if they weren’t home by then, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.


End file.
